There is a lot of talk these days about how kids should be interested in science. Here’s an area of science for everyone, and these cool new books might inspire you to discover your inner scientist.
Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled by Catherine Thimmesh, 58 pages, ages 9-12
Seeing a picture or a model of a dinosaur, do you wonder how anybody knows what they look like? After all, nobody has seen a living dinosaur. This book explains how scientists and artists work together to re-create dinosaurs. As scientific discoveries have been made, the models have changed. Scientific tests may one day expose what a dinosaur’s coloring was, but now artists have to use their imagination to determine how these huge creatures looked.
Beyond the Solar System by Mary Kay Carson, 128 pages, ages 10-13
This book takes readers back to the beginnings of space exploration—thousands of years ago, when people began star observation—and forward to today’s search for planets in distant parts of the Milky Way. Along with history lessons, readers get 21 activities, such as making a black hole and creating a model of Albert Einstein’s universe using a T-shirt. The activities are perfect for cold winter days.
Ultimate Bugopedia by Darlyne Murawski and Nancy Honovich, 272 pages, ages 7 and older
If you’re always on the lookout for butterflies, this book is for you. Hundreds of color photos of common and unusual insects fill this hardcover. There are fascinating stories related to the photos. For example, do you know an insect feeds on the tears of Asian cattle? There’s a question-and-answer section with an insect scientist and advice on how to help preserve endangered insects.
Journey Into the Invisible by Christine Schlitt, 80 pages, ages 9-12
If you use a magnifying（放大的）glass, you know a leaf looks quite different. This book explains what microscopes do and then shows what happens to things around the house when watched with this amazing scientific tool. The bacteria in your mouth, when magnified 20,000 times, look a bit like swimming pool noodles. Fascinating photos are paired with suggestions about how to learn about the world around you, just by looking a little closer. Kids interested in pre-historical animals might read ______.
| A．Ultimate Bugopedia |
| B．Beyond the Solar System |
| C．Journey Into the Invisible |
| D．Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled |
Beyond the Solar System is mainly about ______.
| A．space exploration |
| B．the Milky Way |
| C．history lessons |
| D．Albert Einstein’s universe |
From the passage, we can learn that ______.
| A．butterflies are fond of the tears of Asian cattle |
| B．scientists have discovered the dinosaur’s coloring |
| C．microscopes can present you with an amazing world |
| D．man has explored the black hole for thousands of years |
The main purpose of the passage is to ______.
| A．compare features of different books |
| B．inspire people to become scientists |
| C．teach children some knowledge of science |
| D．recommend new science books to children |
If you look for a book as a present for a child, you will be spoiled for choice even in a year when there is no new Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling’s wizard is not alone: the past decade has been a harvest for good children’s books, which has set off a large quantity of films and in turn led to increased sales of classics such as The Lord of the Rings.
Yet despite that, reading is increasingly unpopular among children. According to statistics, in 1997 23% said they didn’t like reading at all. In 2003, 35% did. And around 6% of children leave primary school each year unable to read properly.
Maybe the decline is caused by the increasing availability（可利用性）of computer games. Maybe the books boom（繁荣）has affected only the top of the educational pile. Either way, Chancellor Gordon Brown plans to change things for the bottom of the class. In his pre-budget（预算） report, he announced the national project of Reading Recovery to help the children struggling most.
Reading Recovery is aimed at six-year-olds, who receive four months of individual daily half- hour classes with a specially trained teacher. An evaluation earlier this year reported that children on the scheme made 20 months’ progress in just one year, whereas similarly weak readers without special help made just five months’ progress, and so ended the year even further below the level expected for their age.
International research tends to find that when British children leave primary school they read well, but read less – often for fun than those elsewhere. Reading for fun matters because children who are keen on（热衷） reading can expect lifelong pleasure and loving books is an excellent indicator（指示物）of future educational success. According to the OECD, being a regular and enthusiastic reader is of great advantage.Which of the following is true of Paragraph 1?
| A．Many children’s books have been adapted from films. |
| B．Many high-quality children’s books have been published. |
| C．The sales of classics have led to the popularity of films. |
| D．The sales of presents for children have increased. |
Statistics suggested that ___.
| A．the number of top students increased with the use of computers. |
| B．a decreasing number of children showed interest in reading. |
| C．a minority of primary school children read properly. |
| D．a large percentage of children read regularly. |
What do we know about Reading Recovery?
| A．An education of it will be made sometime this year. |
| B．Weak readers on the project were the most hardworking. |
| C．It aims to train special teachers to help children with reading. |
| D．Children on the project showed noticeable progress in reading. |
Reading for fun is important because book-loving children ____.
| A．takes greater advantage of the project. |
| B．shows the potential to enjoy a long life. |
| C．is likely to succeed in their education. |
| D．would make excellent future researchers. |
The aim of this text would probably be ____.
| A．to overcome primary school pupils’ reading difficulty. |
| B．to encourage the publication of more children’s books. |
| C．to remind children of the importance of reading for fun. |
| D．to introduce a way to improve early childhood reading. |
It was the summer of 1965. Deluca, then 17, visited Peter Buck, a family friend. Buck asked Deluca about his plan for the future. “I’m going to college, but I need a way to pay for it,” Deluca recalls saying. “Buck said, ‘you should open a sandwich shop.’”
That afternoon, they agreed to be partners. And they set a goal: to open 32 stores in ten years. After doing some research, Buck wrote a check for $ 1,000. Deluca rented a storefront (店面) in Connecticut, and when they couldn’t cover their start-up costs, Buck kicked in another $1,000.
But business didn’t go smoothly as they expected. Deluca says, “After six months, we were doing poorly, but we didn’t know how badly, because we didn’t have any financial controls.” All he and Buck knew was that their sales were lower than their costs.
Deluca was managing the store and to the University of Bridgeport at the same time. Buck was working at his day job as a nuclear physicist in New York. They’d meet Monday evenings and brainstorm ideas for keeping the business running. “We convinced ourselves to open a second store. We figured we could tell the public, ‘We are so successful, we are opening a second store.’” And they did — in the spring of 1966. Still, it was a lot of learning by trial and error.
But the partners’ learn-as-you-go approach turned out to be their greatest strength. Every Friday, Deluca would drive around and hand-deliver the checks to pay their supplies. “It probably took me two and a half hours and it wasn’t necessary but as a result, the suppliers got to know me very well, and the personal relationships established really helped out,” Deluca says.
And having a goal was also important. “There are so many problems that can get you down. You just have to keep working toward your goal,” Deluca adds.
Deluca ended up founding Subways Sandwich, the multimillion-dollar restaurant chain. Deluca opened the first sandwich shop in order to ________.
| A．support his family | B．pay for his college education |
| C．help his partner expand business | D．do some research |
Which of the following is true of Buck?
| A．He put money into the sandwich business. |
| B．He was a professor of business administration. |
| C．He was studying at the University of Bridgeport. |
| D．He rented a storefront for Deluca. |
What can we learn about their first shop?
| A．It stood at an unfavorable place. |
| B．It lowered the prices to poor management. |
| C．It made no profits due to poor management. |
| D．It lacked control over the quality of sandwich. |
They decided to open a second store because they _________.
| A．had enough money to do it |
| B．had succeeded in their business |
| C．wished to meet the increasing demand of customers |
| D．wanted to make believe（假装）that they were successful |
What contributes most to their success according to the author?
| A．Learning by trial and error. | B．Making friends with supplies. |
| C．Finding a good partner. | D．Opening chain stores. |
Ever wondered how one person could save the planet from the effects of climate change?
A British-made computer game on trial release on Monday creates different ways of doing just that．
“Fate of the World”puts the Earth’s future in players’ hands, placing them in charge of an international environmental body which could save the world from the effects of rising greenhouse gas emissions（排放）or let it destroyed by more emissions．
Through different scenes, players can explore options such as geoengineering（地球工程） and alternative energy sources to save the planet from rising temperatures, decreasing natural resources and a growing population over the next 200 years．
An improved version of the game will be followed by a three-month feedback period from players, with final release due in February next year．
Created by Oxford-based games developer Red Redemption, the game is different from other mainstream action games mainly by using data from real climate models and advice from scientists and economists．
“Science data is often inaccessible and we are trying to put players in a position of power and connected with the issues,” Gobion Rowlands, Red Redemption’s founder and chairman said．
This year, a series of apparent errors in climate science and the failure of UN talks to reach an international deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions appeared to weaken the public’s interest in climate change．
However, games centered on sustainability（持续性）and human rights have been growing in popularity and are welcomed by green groups as a way of raising awareness．
Using climate change as inspiration for entertainment shows the issue has affected global culture, which can only be a good thing．Friends of the Earth’s head of climate Mike Childs said.“We need creative industries to work with these big issues as the results can be extremely powerful and can help us to understand what a sustainable future looks and feels like,”he added．“Fate of the World” in the passage refers to．
| A．a book on computer games | B．a company developing computer games |
| C．a computer game on climate change | D．a player in charge of computer games |
What makes the climate computer game different from the other games?
| A．It uses data from real climate models and advice from experts． |
| B．It is the only computer game about climate． |
| C．It can save the planet from the effect of climate change． |
| D．It aims to affect the global culture． |
It can be concluded from the passage that ．
| A．games on sustainability and human rights are very popular among young players |
| B．the game increases players’ awareness of environmental protection |
| C．only computer experts can play the new climate computer game |
| D．after a three-month feedback period from players, the new game is on sale now |
Which of the following can NOT the players experience while playing the new game?
| A．Challenging the climate change in an unreal world |
| B．Understanding what a sustainable future looks and feels like |
| C．Enjoying the power to decide the earth’s fate |
| D．Predicting what will happen in 200 years |
In which column of a newspaper can you probably read this article?
| A．Weather & Climate | B．Science & Technology |
| C．Life & Entertainment | D．Sports & Culture |
“Our aim is to take our art to the world and make people understand what it is to move,” said David Belle, the founder of parkour(跑酷).
Do you love running? It is a good exercise, yet many people find it boring. But what if making your morning jog a creative one? Like jumping from walls and over gaps, and ground rolls? Just like the James Bond in the movie Casino Royale? Bond jumps down from a roof to a windowsill and then runs several blocks over obstacles on the way. It is just because of Bond’s wonderful performances that the sport has become popular worldwide.
Yes, that’s parkour, an extreme street sport aimed at moving from one point to another as quickly as possible, getting over all the obstacles in the path using only the abilities of the human body. Parkour is considered an extreme sport. As its participants dash around a city, they may jump over fences, run up walls and even move from rooftop to rooftop.
Parkour can be just as exciting and charming as it sounds, but its participants see parkour much more than that.
Overcoming all the obstacles on the course and in life is part of the philosophy(理念) behind parkour. This is the same as life. You must determine your destination, go straight, jump over all the barriers as if in parkour and never fall back from them in your life, to reach the destination successfully. A parkour lover said, “I love parkour because its philosophy has become my life, my way to do everything.”
Another philosophy we’ve learnt from parkour is freedom. It can be done by anyone, at any time, anywhere in the world. It is a kind of expression of trust in yourself that you earn energy and confidence. Parkour has become popular throughout the world because of .
| A．its founder, David Belle | B．the film, Casino Royale |
| C．its risks and tricks | D．the varieties of participants |
The underlined word “obstacles” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “”.
| A．streets | B．objects | C．barriers | D．roofs |
Which of the following is true of parkour?
| A．It challenges human abilities. | B．It is a good but boring sport. |
| C．It needs special training. | D．It is a team sport. |
As its participants move around a city, .
| A．they can ask for help | B．they may choose to escape |
| C．they should run to extremes | D．they must learn to survive |
Which of the following is the philosophy of parkour?
| A．Sports and extremes. | B．Excitement and popularity. |
| C．Dreams and success. | D．Determination and freedom. |
From a very early age, some children show better self-control than others. Now, a new study that began with about 1,000 children in New Zealand has tracked how a child’s low self-control can predict poor health, money troubles and even a criminal record in their adult years.
Researchers have been studying this group of children for decades now. They observed the level of self-control the youngsters displayed. Parents, teachers, even the kids themselves, scored the youngsters on measures like “acting before thinking” and “Persistence in reaching goals.”
The study led by Moffitt of Duke University and colleagues followed 1,000 children from birth to age 32 in Dunedin, New Zealand.
“The children who had the lowest self-control when they were age three to ten, later on had the most health problems in their 30s,” Moffitt said，“and they had the worst financial situation. They were more likely to have a criminal record and to be raising a child as a single parent on a very low income.” Moffitt explained that self-control problems were widely observed, and weren’t just a feature of a small group of misbehaving kids.
Moffitt said it’s still unclear why some children have better self-control than others, though she said other researchers have found that it’s mostly a learned behavior, with relatively little genetic influence. But good self-control can be set to run in families because children with good self-control are more likely to grow up to be healthy and prosperous parents. But the good news, Moffitt said, is that self-control can be taught by parents, and through school curricula that have been shown to be effective.From the first two paragraphs we learn that.
| A．the research has been carried out for five years |
| B．self-control in kids tends to determine their future |
| C．self-control was assessed by children’s intelligence |
| D．children’s self-control is almost the same at early age |
Children with low self-control are more likely to .
| A．become wealthy in later life | B．get good school performance |
| C．have better financial planning | D．adopt negative behaviors |
According to Moffitt，.
| A．only good genetic factors can shape their lives in the future |
| B．scientists know well why some children have better self-control |
| C．self-control in childhood has nothing to do with criminal activity |
| D．willpower as a child really influences people’s chances of adulthood |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Self-control cannot be taught in schools. |
| B．The study is restricted within few participants. |
| C．It’s never too late to deal with self-control problems. |
| D．Good parenting can improve self-control and life success. |
Which of the following might be the best title of the passage？
| A．Child’s self-control predicts future health and success |
| B．Kids are encouraged to take risks at an early age |
| C．Children’s development cannot be changed by teachers |
| D．How to teach the kids a bit of self-control in schools |